Country star pledges to embark on affordable summer tour in fight against “huge monopolies” that “sit there stealing money from working class people”
Zach Bryan is the latest artist to rage against the Ticketmaster as the country star — frustrated by skyrocketing ticket prices — pledged Saturday that he’ll embark on a summer tour with “prices as cheap as possible.” Doubling down on his disdain for the concert giant, Bryan also released a surprise new album titled, fittingly, All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster (Live From Red Rocks).
“Seems there is a massive issue with fair ticket prices to live shows lately. I have met kids at my shows who have paid upwards of four-hundred bucks to be there and I’m done with it,” Bryan wrote on Instagram.
“I’ve decided to play a limited number of headline shows next year to which I’ve done all I can to make prices as cheap as possible and to prove to people tickets don’t have to cost $450 to see a good and honest show. To clarify, I am playing a few festivals which I have no control over.”
Bryan, whose “Something in the Orange” was one of both Rolling Stone’s and Barack Obama’s favorite songs of 2022, joins Taylor Swift and politicians like Amy Klobuchar and Alexandia Ocasio-Cortez in lashing out at Ticketmaster and their chokehold over the concert industry.
“You’ve got the nation’s largest ticket vendor with the nation’s largest promoter. Our concerns here can affect everyone,” AOC told Rolling Stone in November following the Swift Eras Tour fiasco. “It could affect the artists from being able to conduct the shows the way they want, from promotions to the way that tickets are sold and structured. And it affects fans because they are being absolutely fleeced.”
“I believe working class people should still be able to afford tickets to shows,” Bryan added in his statement. “I am so tired of people saying things can’t be done about this massive issue while huge monopolies sit there stealing money from working class people. Also to any songwriter trying to make ‘relatable music for the working class man or woman’ should pride themself on fighting who listen to the words they’re singing.”
Bryan also launched a new mailing list where his fans would be informed firsthand of his affordable summer tour, as well as receive news about “merch-drops and unreleased music.”
All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster (Live From Red Rocks), recorded live at the venerable Colorado venue on Nov. 3, 2022, is streaming now on all services.